Semantics of the World: Selected Poems
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About this ebook
A poet of both the body and spirit, the work of Rómulo Bustos Aguirre often explores the nature of existence at the turn of the twenty-first century—humankind’s relationship to itself and the universe, the meaning or purpose, if any, of human existence, and the daunting task of discerning that meaning. Critics have described his poetry as highly refined lyricism, metaphysical, existential, and at times erotic. Semantics of the World introduces the English-speaking world to the exciting work of Rómulo Bustos Aguirre, one of Colombia’s most celebrated living writers.
This selection of extraordinary poems, edited and translated by Nohora Arrieta Fernández and Mark A. Sanders, presents Bustos Aguirre’s works in Spanish alongside their English translations and features the critical apparatus necessary for making Bustos Aguirre’s poetry more accessible to students, scholars, and the general reading public. The volume offers the perfect introduction to Rómulo Bustos Aguirre and his poetry for critical and popular audiences throughout the Anglosphere.
Rómulo Bustos Aguirre
Rómulo Bustos Aguirre is a professor emeritus of literature at the University of Cartagena. He is the author of ten major collections of poetry and is one of Colombia’s most celebrated writers. He has been awarded numerous awards including, most recently, the National Poetry Prize by the Ministry of Culture.
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Semantics of the World - Rómulo Bustos Aguirre
SEMANTICS of the WORLD
AFRO–LATIN AMERICAN WRITERS IN TRANSLATION
MARK A. SANDERS, SERIES EDITOR
Afro–Latin American Writers in Translation is a series of critical editions of celebrated works in translation aimed to advance research and academic reflection on the Black presence in Latin America and its influence across the Americas. By making Afro–Latin American writers more readily available to a North American audience, the works in the series will deepen our understanding of writing and race in New World history. The publications in the series will further provide a complementary critical history of the literary lives and the ever-evolving print cultures found across Afro–Latin American history and culture.
Semantics of the World
selected poems
Rómulo Bustos Aguirre
Edited and Translated by
Nohora Arrieta Fernández and Mark A. Sanders
University of New Mexico PressAlbuquerque
© 2022 by the University of New Mexico Press
All rights reserved. Published 2022
Printed in the United States of America
ISBN 978-0-8263-6424-1 (paper)
ISBN 978-0-8263-6425-8 (electronic)
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022949499
Founded in 1889, the University of New Mexico sits on the traditional homelands of the Pueblo of Sandia. The original peoples of New Mexico—Pueblo, Navajo, and Apache—since time immemorial have deep connections to the land and have made significant contributions to the broader community statewide. We honor the land itself and those who remain stewards of this land throughout the generations and also acknowledge our committed relationship to Indigenous peoples. We gratefully recognize our history.
Publication of this book was made possible in part by a generous contribution from the University of Notre Dame
Cover image: bgwalkert |istockphoto
Cover designed by Mindy Basinger Hill
Interior designed by Isaac Morris
El mundo es siempre sí y no …
The world is always yes and no …
CONTENTS
Note on Translation
Rómulo Bustos Aguirre Chronology
Introduction. Semantics of the World
El oscuro sello de Dios / The Dark Stamp of God
Ícaro dudoso / Doubting Icarus
Hay alguien que yo sé morándome / I Know There’s Someone Dwelling within Me
Cada día volvemos a inventar el paraíso / Every Day We Remake Paradise
Odiseo / Odysseus
Ajedrez / Chess Set
Jungla / Jungle
Socrática / Socratic
Palenqueras / Palenqueras
Monólogo del verdugo / Hangman’s Monologue
Un hombre de piel negra / A Man with Black Skin
En el traspatio del cielo / On the Back Porch of Heaven
Árbol camajorú / Camajorú Tree
La visita / The Visit
Al otro lado del mundo / On the Other Side of the World
Matarratón / Matarratón
Crónica de la madre / The Mother’s Chronicle
Crónica del mediodía / Midday Chronicle
Crónica de la hermana mayor / The Big Sister’s Chronicle
Crónica de la noche / Night’s Chronicle
Crónica del patio / Chronicle of the Courtyard
Vuelo y construcción del caballo de palo / Flight and Construction of the Hobby Horse
Crónica del árbol de agua / Chronicle of the Tree of Water
Poema de las pertenencias / Poem of Belongings
Poema a la hermana menor / Poem for the Little Sister
Balada de la casa / Ballad of the House
Palenquera / Palenquera
La estación de la sed / The Season of Thirst
Crónica / Chronicle
Cotidiano / Everyday
Ciempiés / Centipede
El pajarero / The Bird Catcher
Una vez en un sitio / One Time at the Spot
Botánica / Botánica
Cuento / Story
El don / The Gift
Escena de Marbella / Scene at Marbella
Destino / Fate
Epifanía / Epiphany
De la dificultad para atrapar una mosca / On the Difficulty of Catching a Fly
Monólogo de Jonás / Jonah’s Monologue
El ángel / The Angel
Consejo / Advice
Orishas / Orishas
Sacrificiales / Sacrificials
Lo eterno / The Eternal
El carroñero / The Scavenger
Sicología de la madreperla / Psychology of the Mother-of-Pearl
Para un manual del inquisidor / For the Inquisitor’s Manual
Mantarraya / Manta Ray
Poema con pez y garcetas / Poem with Fish and Egrets
Cotidiana / Everyday
Dactiloscopia / Dactyloscopy
De la levedad / Of Levity
Cinegética / Cynegetics
De los sólidos platónicos / Of the Platonic Solids
Contra Parménides o la mariapalito / Against Parmenides or the Little Stick Bug
El arcángel / The Archangel
Mirando una estampa de Santa Lucía en un texto hagiográfico / Looking at a Portrait of Saint Lucia in a Hagiographic Text
En el zoológico / In the Zoo
Sacrificial / Sacrificial
Un paco-paco / A Cricket
Poema probable / Probable Poem
La capa de juegos / The Magic Cape
Muerte y levitación de la ballena / Death and Levitation of the Whale
Cuento / Story
Observación hecha desde el hemisferio izquierdo del cerebro / Observation Made from the Left Hemisphere of the Brain
Del cangrejo ermitaño / Of the Hermit Crab
Euclidiano / Euclidian
De moscas y de almas / Of Flies and Souls
Para Wittgenstein / For Wittgenstein
Poiesis / Poiesis
Cenzontle / Cenzontle
Tropismos / Tropisms
Muerte y levitación de la ballena / Death and Levitation of the Whale
Evocando a G. Bateson / Evoking G. Bateson
El fulgor / The Radiance
Sufí / Sufi
Escalera / Stairs
Ilímites / Limitless
La casa / The House
La pupila incesante / The Incessant Pupil
Semántica del mundo / Semantics of the World
Ser y no ser / To Be and Not to Be
Jacob y el ángel revisitados / Jacob and the Angel Revisited
Metafísica / Metaphysics
Poeta / Poet
Poema de amor con serpientes, erizos y palomas / Love Poem with Snakes, Porcupines and Doves
Poema con sombra parlante / Poem with a Talking Shadow
Cabeza de Medusa con espejo / Medusa’s Head with a Mirror
La pupila incesante / The Incessant Pupil
O viceversa / Or Vice Versa
Bertica / Bertica
Péndulo / Pendulum
Ceremonias / Ceremonies
Notes
Additional Reading
Works Cited
NOTE ON TRANSLATION
Nohora Arrieta Fernández and Mark A. Sanders
In the summer of 2016, we approached Rómulo Bustos with an idea for an English-language translation of his poetry. We think his poetry is wonderful, a gift to humankind, and therefore should be known beyond the Spanish-speaking world. He was elated by the idea and in a matter of weeks sent us his selections for the volume. He chose poems that best represent the concept and poetics for each of his major volumes: The Dark Stamp of God, On the Back Porch of Heaven, The Season of Thirst, Sacrificials, Death and Levitation of the Whale, and The Incessant Pupil.
At the same time, we devised a set of guidelines for translating Bustos’s poetry that would make decisions consistent across the translation. Because Bustos is a poet of concision and understatement, we agreed to affect a comparable vocal style in English. Toward this end, we have employed an economy of words, simple diction, and whenever possible contemporary syntax, contractions, and the apostrophe (as opposed to of
) to form the possessive. However, there are exceptions. For example, when the verb to be
needs greater emphasis, we have chosen not to use a contraction, or when the line needs to slow down (particularly toward the end of a poem), we use two words instead of the contraction for greater dramatic effect. The most consistent exception to these guidelines occurs in the poems in which Bustos himself is affecting a slightly elevated form of oration.
We have replicated, as closely as possible, Bustos’s line breaks and spacing, allowing for some variation when the syntax in English requires it. Likewise, we have followed his pattern of capitalization at the beginning of lines, though the capitalized word in English may be different from its equivalent in Spanish, again due to changes in syntax. In terms of punctuation, Bustos’s aesthetic is quite spartan in that he uses very few end stops and so allows lines to flow into one another, sometimes composing entire poems without punctuation. We have followed this approach meticulously.
Furthermore, we elected to annotate the volume lightly. The annotations explain references to Greek and Judeo-Christian mythology, flora and fauna specific to South America, and the few untranslated phrases. These annotations are by no means exhaustive; rather, we selected references that are most likely to be unfamiliar to North American readers, yet are essential to the understanding of the poem. Also, we have annotated words and phrases that remain in the original language (Aztec, French, or Latin) in the body of the original poem. Finally, we have left a few words and phrases in Spanish untranslated because they are the noun or title in reference to a thing that does not exist in the English-speaking world, or the word is a neologism and thus has no translation.
All translations are forms of interpretation; therefore, the translations that follow reflect our understanding of the original poems, hopefully interpretations that will encourage others. Toward this end, this volume is bilingual, offering the original followed by the translation so that readers may read the original Spanish, if possible, and English in conversation with one another, and offer their own translations and interpretations. In other words, we do not offer here a definitive translation, if such a thing exists, but the beginning of a conversation inspired and propelled by Bustos’s artistry.
RÓMULO BUSTOS AGUIRRE CHRONOLOGY